Chapter 82: The Death of Lao Jia

"Five are dead!" Liu Rusi said in a deep voice, her expression grave.

"Sister, I already told you before! Why didn't you listen to me?" He Yuzhu slowly shook his head.

"Who could have foreseen he would be so ruthless! My five men were only there to tail him; I never expected that an explosion would occur within a radius of several hundred meters, and the bodies of those few men were blown to nothing!" Liu Rusi's brows were tightly furrowed, her face showing anger.

"Sister, I have a few words to say to you." He Yuzhu pulled Liu Rusi to the side and whispered some instructions.

Liu Rusi stared at He Yuzhu, her gaze still unkind, and said, "You go with Battalion Commander Liu and set off together. If this mission fails too, don't blame me for dealing with you!"

"Sister, Liu Xiaohua isn't going, so who am I supposed to protect?"

"Protect those goods; to me, those things are more important than Liu Xiaohua." Having said this, she boarded the car and drove away.

At the Military Statistics Bureau Beiping Station, Tie Lin practically burst through the door of the Station Chief's office. His face was covered in blood, his cotton-padded jacket was torn in several places, and gray-white cotton batting hung out, matted with dark red bloodstains.

He collapsed onto the floor, his throat as hoarse as a broken bellows: "Station... Station Chief! Ma Mingyuan and the others... they wouldn't listen to me! The whole courtyard smelled of kerosene, I tried my best to stop them... but they insisted on rushing inside..."

His whole body trembled like a withered leaf in an autumn wind, "It exploded... it all blew up! Over a hundred people... arms and legs flying everywhere in the sky, it was simply a living hell..."

Station Chief Feng stood up abruptly from behind his desk, his hands pressed against the surface, his eyes sharp as knives: "What, over a hundred people are dead?" He was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say. He knew this time it was over, completely over. Only now did he realize why Liu Rusi had easily handed over the credit to him. He had to stay calm; since she was playing him, he wasn't someone to be trifled with either. If she played him, he would go find her father. He sat down slowly, looked at Tie Lin, and said coldly: "So many people died, how is it that you are the only one who came back completely unscathed?"

"I... I went to look for a water bucket..." Tie Lin shrank back to avoid that gaze, his voice growing lower and lower, "I had just reached the street corner when..."

The Station Chief walked around the desk, his leather shoes making heavy sounds on the floor.

He bent down, his gloomy face almost touching Tie Lin's: "This matter, you keep it buried in your stomach! If you dare to let out even half a word..." His hand pressed against the holster at his waist, "I will send you on your way right now."

"Understood! I won't say a single word!" Tie Lin scrambled out of the office.

In the study of the Shen Residence, the stove fire was burning brightly, yet it could not dispel the heaviness in the air.

Liu Rusi sat in a sandalwood chair with a mournful face. Shen Shichang leaned against the back of his chair, his eyes slightly closed, his fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

"Xiao Si," he spoke slowly, opening his eyes a crack, "this matter can no longer be covered up. The superiors will demand accountability soon. How do you plan to end this?"

Liu Rusi took a deep breath, sat up straight, and followed the excuse He Yuzhu had found for her: "Father, let's just say that Liu Xiaohua accidentally triggered an explosion while experimenting with a new type of explosive and died heroically in the line of duty. All the security personnel... all died in the line of duty."

Shen Shichang suddenly opened his eyes, his fingers tapping the armrest pausing: "This matter is huge and cannot tolerate any mistakes. Your explanation... what is the basis for it?"

"I went to see the scene; the power of the explosion was too great, and the surrounding courtyards were razed to the ground. This could never have been caused by ordinary explosives." Liu Rusi's tone was certain, "This proves that Liu Xiaohua did indeed develop a super explosive."

"What if he isn't dead?"

"Even if he isn't dead, he can only live under an assumed name." Liu Rusi shook her head, "So many people died; their descendants will seek revenge on him for generations to come."

Just as she was speaking, the telephone on the desk suddenly rang.

Shen Shichang picked up the receiver, his tone pained: "... Station Chief Feng, the superiors will certainly investigate this matter thoroughly. However, based on the current evidence, all clues point to an experimental accident... Professor Liu died heroically for his country..."

The person on the other end of the phone echoed repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes! Chief Shen is wise! Professor Liu indeed died in the line of duty!"

"I heard there is still a survivor at your station; keep his mouth shut..."

"Rest assured, I will draft the telegram now and submit it immediately after you have reviewed it."

In the biting cold wind, the military truck convoy struggled forward on the bumpy dirt road.

He Yuzhu curled up in the passenger seat, sniffing a cigarette in his hand repeatedly without lighting it.

A woman's heart is like a needle at the bottom of the sea... I clearly let her escape a disaster, and not only is she ungrateful, but she even exiled me to this frozen land to suffer. He Yuzhu shook his head.

The Lou Steel Rolling Mill was decorated with lanterns and streamers to celebrate the merger with the Xingya Zhitie Beiping Gongchang.

Xu Fugui was one of the organizers of this celebration. Since he couldn't handle it alone, he pulled in a few people from the Siheyuan, including Lao Jia, Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, Wang Zhifu from the Houyuan, Ma Bingchang from the front courtyard, and He Daqing, who was on his first day of work, to help set up the stage, move tables, and hang banners.

After a bout of busyness, they finally had the scene arranged.

The few of them sat in a corner on the far right of the front of the podium, secretly eating some of the small snacks meant for the meeting.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the celebration officially began.

Important figures such as Beiping Mayor Xiong Bin, 11th War Zone Commander Sun Lianzhong, and Enemy Property Reception Commissioner Shen Shichang were all in attendance.

Lou Bancheng was on the stage reading the opening remarks: "Fellow officers, fellow colleagues! Today, standing here, I am filled with mixed emotions. Recalling the eight years of the War of Resistance, the country was shattered... all thanks to the soldiers on the front lines fighting with blood..."

Suddenly, a man in work clothes in the crowd below stood up, pulled a hand grenade from his chest, pulled the fuse, and threw it with all his might toward the podium!

He threw it too hastily; the hand grenade hit a stage pillar, made a "clang" sound, and bounced back, rolling precisely to the feet of Xu Fugui, He Daqing, Lao Jia, and the others.

"Sss—" The hand grenade emitted white smoke, and everyone was scared silly.

Lao Jia reacted the fastest; he jumped up and wanted to run, but he was tripped by a chair leg and fell straight onto the smoking hand grenade!

"Boom!"

With a loud bang, Lao Jia was blown into the air and then fell heavily to the ground.

The venue immediately fell into chaos, people screaming and fleeing in all directions, while the leaders on the stage all dove to the ground.

Security guards swarmed up and pinned the culprit down on the spot.

Yi Zhonghai, Liu Haizhong, and the others rushed over, only to see Lao Jia covered in blood, gasping his last breath: "Take... take care of my family..." before he stopped breathing.

Xu Fugui squatted on the ground, holding his head and crying. Yi Zhonghai kept shaking his head, while Liu Haizhong was relatively calm; he asked: "Do you think Lao Jia was trying to run or was he a hero trying to save us all?"

He Daqing cursed: "Liu Haizhong, you bastard, is this the time to be talking about such things? See if he can still be saved! If he can be saved, send him to the hospital."

Yi Zhonghai felt his pulse and shook his head, "It's no use!"

When Lao Jia's body was carried back to the Siheyuan, Jia Zhangshi had already received the news.

She rushed out of the room like a madwoman, her hair disheveled, and at a glance saw the glaring crimson on the door plank and her husband, who was no longer in human shape.

She froze in place, her whole body trembling, and then let out a heart-wrenching howl: "Lao Jia! You thousand-cut bastard! You just left like this!"

She collapsed on the ground, her hands frantically slapping the cold floor: "You heartless old bastard! Short-lived ghost! You left the two of us behind to fend for ourselves?"

After cursing her husband, her bloodshot eyes glared fiercely at Xu Fugui: "It's all because of you! If you hadn't insisted on him going to help, how could he have died! Why wasn't it you who was blown to death back then..."

Xu Fugui's face turned from white to green, and he trembled as he tried to defend himself: "Who could have foreseen this? Who could have foreseen this!"

Jia Zhangshi didn't listen at all.

She turned to the other neighbors, her voice distorted by extreme anger: "And you! Yi Zhonghai! Liu Haizhong! He Daqing! You all remember this, you owe Lao Jia a life! In the future, if I run into trouble, you cannot ignore me..."

Yi Zhonghai promised: "Sister-in-law, no matter what, Lao Jia did indeed save me, and I will remember this favor!"

"That's right! Lao Yi is right!" He Daqing said.

Liu Haizhong nodded, not saying a word.

Finally, Jia Zhangshi looked toward the factory: "Damn that factory! Damn that wretched ceremony! Why didn't it blow those officials to death... Lao Jia..."

She was like a crazed mother beast; her shrill, cursing wails were soaked with a woman's despair, making everyone who heard them feel both horrified and deeply heartbroken.